Tame Impala

Sunday: 8:25 – 9:55

Stage: The Town

So, you probably are quite familiar with this one, but just in case….

Over the past 5 years, Tame Impala has gone from a darling of the niche psychedelic rock world to one of the biggest bands in the world, period. Often mistaken as a band in the traditional sense, Tame Impala is actually the music of one guy, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. Parker is joined on-stage by an ensemble of musicians for live performances. Parker’s music became a critical hit in his native Australia with the release of 2010’s Lonerism, and he found breakout success with 2015’s Currents, which brought a more danceable sound with crunchy programmed drums and a heavy reliance on spacey synthesizers over distorted guitars. The

Listen to Tame Impala if you’re into:

Psychedelics

The Beatles

Synthesizers

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Cigarettes After Sex

Sunday: 5:55 – 6:40

Stage: The City

Your quintessential dream pop band, Cigarettes After Sex are moody and romantic, with a certain darkness that settles over their music like a hazy fog. Lead singer Greg Gonzalez adds a layer of tenderness to the band’s sound with his androgynous vocals and sentimental lyrics. And while their songs may be steeped in mellowness and ambient sounds, many of their tracks are still danceable. Gaining most of their popularity through music blogs and glowing reviews from critics, Cigarettes After Sex gained greater awareness through key music licensing that saw their song “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” placed in hit T.V. shows Handmaid’s Tale, The Sinner, and Shameless and various commercials.

Listen to Cigarettes After Sex if you’re into:

Mazzy Star

Beach House

Clove Cigarettes

Laying in bed all damn day

 

Santigold

Saturday: 5:05 – 5:50

Stage: The Town

Santigold has been a bit of a musical chameleon over her decade-long career, never once fitting into a clear genre by dipping her toe in punk, new wave, electronic, indie, reggae, and hip-hop. The result is an amazingly fresh sound that has been a favorite of critics over the years, never really breaking through into the mainstream consciousness. After being obsessed with her debut release Santogold (her name before switching to Santigold before her second album), I had kind of forgotten about her for the past 10 years or so before getting reacquainted with her music this week, and I can’t believe how much good music I have been missing out on! 2012’s Master of Make-Believe and 2016’s 99 Cents both have numerous stand-out tracks.

Listen to Santigold if you’re into:

M.I.A

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Phantogram

Andy Warhol

Original versions of songs that Jay-Z sampled

Hiatus Kaiyote

Hailing from down under, this R&B/ jazz-funk outfit has been racking up accolades and accomplishments with zero airplay stateside. The band now has two Grammy nominations under their belt, both times being nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance, first for 2013’s “Nakamarra” and again in 2015 for the song “Breathing Underwater. Their bouncy sound and intricate percussion work blended along with lead singer Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield’s commanding, muti-octave vocal range make Hiatus Kaiyote a must see. Not to mention, the band happened to be a favorite of Prince as the late music icon took to Twitter to urge fans to listen to their music.

Listen to Hiatus Kaiyote if you’re into:

Little Dragon

BadBadNotGood

Thundercat

The Internet (the band, not just the regular internet)

Anderson.Paak

Pond

Sunday: 12:40 -1:20

Stage: The Town

Yet another band from Australia on this list. What the hell is going on down there? Pond is a psychedelic 5 piece that oftentimes shares members with Kevin Parker for live Tame Impala shows. While the band shares a lot of similar qualities with Tame Impala, Pond separates themselves with a more playful sound and more of an improvisational sound, particularly on their second album Corridors of Blissterday, which was written and recorded in a matter of five days.

Listen to Pond if you’re into:

Tame Impala

Oh Sees (formerly Thee Oh Sees)

Spiritualized

David Crosby

Homemade bongs